Grotte du Lazaret

Grotte du Lazaret

Grotte du Lazaret
location in France Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Grotte du Lazaret (France) Show map of France
Location	Nice town
Region	Alpes-Maritimes Department, France
Coordinates	43°41′24″N 7°17′24″E / 43.69000°N 7.29000°E / 43.69000; 7.29000
Site notes
Excavation dates	1962

The Grotte du Lazaret (English: Cave of Le Lazaret) is an archaeological cave site of prehistoric human occupation study, situated in the eastern suburbs of the French town of Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Results of excavations have been interpreted as to account for the construction of shelters by humans during the Lower Paleolithic period. Research teams have unearthed more than 20,000 fossilized faunal bone fragments.

Two hundred thousand year old cranial fragments of a nine year old juvenile found in the cave suggest the presence of either Homo heidelbergensis or a proto-Neanderthal human.